Like Honey
by YellowParadox
Summary: Love is weird. Most can agree. Forbidden love is difficult, painful, and almost always end horribly. But this is just agonizing. This love could mean losing everything. Sprucepaw finds a another molly on her first gathering and they both hit off a little rocky. But they grew closer, and closer, until it was becoming something that clans would never accept.
1. Chapter 1

**AltTitle- Lesbian Cats**

 **Rated T for sexual references, violence, abuse, minor language, being un-beta, ect. (mostly in later chapters)**  
 **Please Review so that I may improve 3**

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Sprucepaw looked up at the night sky, watching as the treetops that once blocked the starlight become scarce. Her golden eyes were wide as they tried to take in all they can. Being her first time to a Gathering, the young molly couldn't get enough of all the new sights and smells that touched her alert senses. By her side was a bigger dark brown tabby named Murkpaw, who chuckled at her fascination. He nudged the other out of her trance. "Cool, huh?" He laughed. Sprucepaw felt her fur bristle before huffing at him, deciding to say nothing in return. This only caused the tom to laugh again before reassuring the apprentice it was alright to be fascinated by them. The marshes of ShadowClan were dark and foreboding, the terrain consistent with being muddy and wet. The light had a hard time traveling down to their eyes, but these cats adapted to the darkness that made their home. The patched apprentice still felt somewhat ashamed to be engrossed with something as simple as lights and returned her focused to the path ahead.

The clan of dark-colored cats weaved through the ferns that littered the territory owned by Riverclan, staying within five tail-lengths from the lake as promised when the cats first came here years ago. The leaders now were decadence of the leaders back then, though Sprucepaw couldn't remember all of their names 'Lightstar' was just about all she could remember. Sadly, the clan who he ruled always escaped her. Forgetfulness was something that her mentor always scolded her about, threatening that Adderstar would kick her out to be eaten by badgers if the molly didn't show improvement soon. She girl shivered at the thought – though she had no clue what a badger even looked like. If one showed up practically half the clan was there to drive it off to where it came. Same with kitty-pets, rouges, their own clanmates-

Everyone ahead of her started to slow down, so the young molly did the same. Her eyes followed as they each leaped on the tree without hesitation. Adderstar's speckled gray coat glistened as Starclan's light hit them, making the glow as he bravely crossed the fallen tree with ShadowClan behind him. Admirable was an understatement.

A nudge from Murkpaw notified his distracted friend. It was her turn to cross.

Unsteadily, the bright-eyed feline placed one gentle paw on the wood. She then added the other, growing a bit more confident with herself. Older cats simply jumped beside - even over – her to continue the journey. "Any day now," Her tabby friend scoffed from behind. She swallowed and carefully lifted herself up the log, hind claws instantly digging into the bark for purchase as she felt the sensation of falling. But the youngster didn't. She did, however, looked a little silly for gripping onto the tree as if her life was near its end. A snort of amusement sounded from ahead, filling the calico with shame. She straightened up and scurried across to get it over with. Murkpaw was hot on her heels.

"Had trouble?" He joked playfully. Sprucepaw's ears tilted back, "You sure do like your voice." She said bitterly but softened by her own hint of amusement. Just beyond the bushes they could hear pawsteps, smell other clans, and hear new voices. The excitement from earlier was flowing into the tri-colored molly once again. They both got off the bridge, parting the bushes and following their group into the clearing.

The Gathering was much bigger than expected. Cat filled the area with their chatter, moving between each other to find the right spot or to find a friend. The new apprentice slowly and blindly followed Murkpaw's lead as he swiftly ran over to ThunderClan, watching as the new faces milled about. For the first time, she felt as if she were on another planet. Stranded in a place where everything was different, down to the sound and feel of things. Slightly overwhelmed, Sprucepaw skittered over to the cat she was most comfortable with as he sat down to talk to another cat.

Upon noticing the other, the dark tabby purred. Murkpaw motioned his tail from her to a tall yet powerful looking she-cat. Beside her was another molly. Sprucepaw sat down beside him as he started to introduce her. "Fallpaw, this is Sprucepaw." He meowed to the bigger cat. The scent of ThunderClan was easily distinguished from the cloud of smells. She nodded her head in greeting before Murkpaw pointed to the other she. "And that's Mistpaw," He said. Mistpaw was obviously a RiverClanner – they all somehow smell wet. And fishy. Actually, Mistpaw was wet. Water clung from her sleek black fur, riding down until it hit the ground, absorbed by the earth after moments of contact. This allowed her to also notice the odd white spots that marked her chest, paws, and tail-tip. Puzzled, the ShadowClan feline raised the question. "Did you . . . swim? Over here?" Mistpaw blinked. "Yes." Came the flat reply.

Not sure if that was sarcasm or not, she instead looked back over to the Thunderclanner. Fallpaw's tail thwacked that stoic black cat behind her head, earning an abrupt hiss in response. "Sorry," the pine-scented Fallpaw meowed sweetly to Sprucepaw. "She doesn't have manners." Mistpaw licked her lips but said nothing in return. That seemed a bit unnecessary for someone of another clan. She assumed her to be the mother of the group.

Murkpaw laughed for what must have been the hundredth time in the past hour. "Mistpaw is a grumpy elder. Don't let that get to you though – she's nice when she warms up to you." And how long would that take, the thought appeared but was never spoken.

"Well, nice to meet you too!" Sprucepaw purred in hopes of putting up a better impression. Fallpaw purred in return while Mistpaw barely grunted. Tough crowd

The golden ThunderClan molly and Murkpaw started to chat some more with each other, leaving just her and the rather unapproachable Mistpaw.

"So," The calico started. Mistpaw lifted her yellow gaze from the crowd to her slender multicolor frame, making the molly freeze. Whatever she was about to say fled her mind and was replaced and heat and confusion. Somewhat startled and taken aback, Sprucepaw coughed and tried to regain her footing. "How are you?" She asked. Mistpaw replied, "Fine."

The Shadowclanner felt her whiskers twitch. Her one-worded answers continued for a while. "It's a nice night huh?"

A pause. Then a shrug. "Yeah. newleaf is always nice." Her eyes started to wander about her surroundings. "Do you know when the gathering will start?"

Happy that she got anything besides just a one-word answer, she eagerly mewed. "Don't know, first gathering. Is this your first one as well?"

The black cat nodded. She seems to become more invested in the conversation as time went on. "Yeah. Snowstar wanted to get all the apprentices out the moment he could."

"Out?" Sprucepaw asked. She was now sitting beside the other now that her fur was no longer dripping. The other she-cat dipped her head once again. "He hates it when we are even relaxing. He wants us to work until our paws wear down." The calico giggled at the reply. "I thought RiverClan was always lazing around, with how my clanmates talk about them." That actually earned her a hard exhale as a laugh. Better than nothing, she guessed. "The warriors do! It's like Snowstar isn't aware that when we're not hunting, we're training, if not that, we're out collecting moss or something." She rolled her eyes. "But if you let a single warrior hear you – you'll get an earful. I promise."

Sprucepaw felt herself smile. "Sounds tough," she chuckled. Mistpaw smiled slightly. A yowl from the trees announced the beginning of the gathering, and the two quickly stopped their conversation, as did Fallpaw and Murkpaw.

Snowstar, Adderstar, Maplestar, and Redstar stood among the branches. Below them were their trusted deputies, all of which were members of the leader's first-born litters. They stood proudly as the gathering began with Snowstar. Then with Adderstar's drawn-out report. By Redstar, Sprucepaw was beyond drained. This was boring. Horribly so. Where was the leader/clan drama? Where were the reports about badger or snake attacks? Where was the fun? She could hardly believe she actually looked forward to this snooze-fest. This was nothing like she was told.

One glance at Mistpaw told that she was feeling the exact same. She looked ready to sleep actually, blinking slowly and yawning. All the leaders said the same thing – newleaf was kind as always, new apprentices, new warriors, kits. Staring at rocks was more entertaining at the moment.

The meeting was finally coming to an end, and the clans started to gather together and start the journey back home. Fallpaw spoke of how nice it was to see Murkpaw again, and how nice Sprucepaw was to meet before bouncing off to join Thunderclan. Mistpaw stared at the golden apprentice before looking back at the calico beside her. "It was nice meeting you as well," She mewed plainly. Sprucepaw smiled. "You as well, Mistpaw." She purred. The inky black feline blinked before waving her tail as she walked off. "See you again! Maybe!" Sprucepaw called after her. Mistpaw glanced over her shoulder and called back, barely audible over the sound of cats grouping together and chatting.

"Yeah. Hopefully."


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm back! The first part of this is just a continuation of the last chapter, followed by a month time-skip. We see a little more about Mistpaw's personality near the end.**

 _ **HeatherDiamond128; Thank you for such a kind review! And yes, this is building up towards Spruce x Mist**_

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Sprucepaw watched the dark feline leave before rejoining her own band of cats. WindClan left, with ThunderClan trailing behind them. Her eyes followed them before she felt something poking her side, ripping her gaze away from the retreating clans and landing on Murkpaw. The tabby's tail was curled. "Wasn't that fun?" He mewed. "You never see so many cats in one area, yeah?" The patched molly hummed in thought before answering. "I guess. Though I only really talked to one person," She swished her tail towards the RiverClan side. They were taking their time to go, grooming and still talking among each other. Their camp was right next to the Gathering place anyway – its not like they had a long journey. Strangely, Mistpaw was separate from the clan, lazily watching cats as they moved about. None of her clanmates spared a look at her. A dash of hurt touched Sprucepaw's chest before shaking it off. Mistpaw was already a difficult cat to talk to; she might not even be bothered.

The tom tilted his head. "Well, that's pretty much what you do here. It's a chance to learn about other clans and make friends,"

If she made a friend in the first place is the real question. She'll assume she did.

A yowl from Adderstar brought both pairs of eyes over to him. The two apprentices stood up and padded after their clan, parting the bushes once again and crossing that horrible, horrible bridge. Sprucepaw's claws hooked deeply into the bark, fur bristling like she was facing a fox. Cats continued to move around her on their trek home.

For a moment the girl looked down and saw heads bobbing in the water, blowing open her eyes. Panic rushed through her like fire, freezing her movements as she stared wide-eyed at the fallen cats. Until she notice they held no expression of distress. The waterborne felines were swiftly paddling through the water, tails floating and trailing after as the sliced through. Some of the RiverClan cats were actually _swimming_ across the lake. So Mistpaw was serious. Noted.

That completely broke her mind. What was the point? She notice that some of them were also crossing the bridge, picking to not join their kin in the depths.

An irritated growl sounded from somewhere ahead of her. Ivyfur was watching them disdainfully. "They always want to show off." He muttered darkly. "The bridge is obviously faster. Why can't they just act normal?" A snicker from Mossyfur, a russet she-cat, was heard next. Her old raspy voice was easy to identify. "This is the only exercise they get. Riverclanners hardly hunt, they just wait for the fish to jump into their paws."

The two warriors was soon out of earshot, making the calico realize just how slow she was moving. The molly swiftly moved across the tree, managing to catch up with Murkpaw again. "How could you leave me behind?" She huffed. Murkpaw shrugged. "I got tired of telling you to hurry up. You weren't even listening." She cuffed his ear, a smile on her maw as he yelped.

An entire moon pasted since the gathering. Murkpaw was due to become a warrior any day now – he was a few moons older than Sprucepaw, so she still had some time to go. The apprentice den also had new additions to replace him; Mudpaw and Mintpaw. The two energetic toms were constantly shooting beneath paws and tearing a new hole in the den walls – consequently, they were also always picking ticks out of the elders' fur and replacing bedding for the dens. Nonetheless they were going to be helpful at keeping Sprucepaw from getting bored when is was time for her closest friend to leave.

"I'm not suddenly going to turn into cranky old Frostjaw." He said when Sprucepaw brought up her concerns about becoming distant. "I'll just have a new name. We can still hang out from time to time, just won't have to deal with your snoring; unlike poor little Mintpaw and Mudpaw." She batted his ear, resulting in a laugh and a shove from the older apprentice.

The two were about to start a play-fight before Mossyfur called over the calico she. Her mentor was getting to the point of retirement – her graying muzzle being the most distinct characteristic. Sprucepaw was likely to be the last cat to train under her. The patched feline scampered over to her mentor, meowing a quick goodbye to her friend. She noticed Fleetfoot and Ivyfur were with the elderly warrior as well, talking with her. Confusion come to her face. What was going on?

"Are you sure about bringing an _apprentice_?" Fleetfoot asked her mentor, his dusty brown tail flicking in the air. Mossyfur nodded. "I don't want to leave her in camp all day." She rasped, licking her paw and drawing it over her ear. Ivyfur spoke up this time, siding with Fleetfoot. "Barkmask could train her for you, he's giving Murkpaw a break today. Twolegs would be around it this time of year." He pointed out, flicking his eyes towards the apprentice.

"He's already out hunting." The female warrior said back, a pang of aggression in her tone. She wasn't a very patient one.

They both viably flinched. "I'm just saying – this feels like a warrior's job. The last thing we need is an injured cat. Apprentices shouldn't be around the-"

"My apprentice is _perfectly_ capable of marking the damn _border_!" She snapped, flashing her teeth. Ivyfur and Fleetfoot reeled their heads back in surprise but said nothing else as the she-cat got up and exited the camp. Was she even allowed to do that without the deputy's permission…? Sprucepaw just assumed he made her leader of the patrol, thus giving her bossing rights. Ivyfur looked at Sprucepaw, ears folded back by a hair. He opened his mouth and shut it within the same heartbeat. Together, they walked out of camp after the warrior in silence.

For being an elderly she-cat, Mossyfur was still quite athletic. Her strides were difficult to keep up with, forcing the younger cat to a speedy trot in an attempt to keep the other within her sights. The dark marshes flew by them, paws leaping over puddles of mud and jagged rocks. The light from the falling sun filtered through the thick leaves above their heads, giving all the light needed. ShadowClan cats hunt in the darkness after all, so it's natural that many of them need only minimal light.

Sprucepaw suddenly noticed the direction they're heading and piped up. "Are we heading towards the small thunderpath?" She asked curiously. Mossyfur hummed in conformation, and the younger feline felt a purr rising in her throat. A scoff came from Ivyfur. "Old bat is going to have a failure of an apprentice like _last_ time." She resisted the urge to snatch his tail off. ' _Even if he deserves it._ '

The patrol finally reached the RiverClan-Shadowclan border, spreading out to mark the trees. After they were done, Mossyfur told Sprucepaw to go off and hunt, since that's what she had to do anyway. So, hunt she did.

For a while.

She was creeping up on a frog, gleaming eyes locked onto it's form. Her paws were sinking into the mud, but training taught her how to use it for her advantage. The target was just one tail-length away now. She wiggled her haunches, and then-

The apprentice heard a yowl. A very _close_ yowl. Her head shot up, ears swiveling atop her head. Her green eyes scanned the marsh for danger, completely forgetting about her job. The frog had already hopped into its pond from the cry anyway, so there was no point in staying low now.

Sprucepaw heard another cry. It was coming from the border – from the thunderpath.

Jumping into action, she raced back towards it, flying over rotten logs and boulders. Someone was definitely hurt, and needed help.

Her paws pounded the ground, tail streaming as she ran, before bursting into the clearing. Breathing heavily as the yellow orbs in her skull wildly flicked back and forth in search of a injured loner or-

Oh.

Oh _Starclan_ , _**no**_.

Splayed out on the thunderpath was black fur, speckled with white spots. Yellow eyes gazed distantly at the sky. Underneath the acidic taste of a monster, there was a Riverclanner's scent.

Sprucepaw's mouth went dry. Paws went numb, the fur along her back bristling. Herheart threatened to leap out her chest with how hard it was hammering. She wanted to scream, to call for help, to _move_. But she couldn't.

But Mistpaw did.

 _Then_ Sprucepaw screamed.

Mistpaw shot up in fright. "Whoa whoa, Sprucepaw! Calm down! I was just lying down, great Starclan, stop!" The speckled cat waved her paws, trying to prove that she wasn't dead. Eventually Sprucepaw managed to get to heartbeat and breathing to a more or less normal state, crouching down while Mistpaw was standing above her.

Upon gathering her mind, she hissed harshly at the she. "Are you mad?! Who takes a nap on the thunderpath!" The exhausted cat wheezed. Mistpaw twitched her whiskers. "I wasn't napping." She said dryly. "I did it on purpose. Trying to scare my mentor." The slender Shadowclan cat didn't even have a reply ready for that answer, except:

"You must have frog dung in your brain."

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 **And that's the end of the chapter! I forgot to mention; Mistpaw has vitiligo, explaining why Spruce said that she was 'a black cat with odd white spots littering her fur' (paraphrasing) to, in this chapter, saying 'a black pelt speckled with white'. Mist was born all black but started to develop white spots as she grew.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi! I'm not dead! I know it's been a long time, but now I'm back for the summer. The *checks statistics* two followers can now leap with joy, as we are now back in action! Please R &R, don't hesitate to ask questions. At first, **_**Like Honey**_ **didn't really have a… plot planned out. I was just going with whatever. But now I have an outline so things SHOULD be consistent.** **Tell me if the pacing is weird, or whatever uwu.** **But that's enough rambling from me~**

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"Murkgaze. Murkgaze. Murkgaze. Mur-"

"Shut. The hell. Up."

Murkgaze sat beside Sprucepaw. The multicolored she was poking his side, a claw digging into his thick fur. At his words, she screwed up her face. "And THAT'S why Adderstar delayed you're warrior ceremony." She earned nothing more than a growl from her best friend. All she was trying to do was ask how long they had been there, but he was _still_ bitter about his promotion being delayed. He's lucky Adderstar wanted to impress the other clans with having the most warriors, or he would still be sleeping in the too-small apprentice den.

Speaking of friends; ThunderClan and RiverClan were approaching. Her ears perked, pointing towards the group. Is she here this time? The she-cat wasn't around for the last few gatherings, and it made the apprentice worry. Her paws shuffled for the hundredth time, green eyes flicking in the night.

An orange and white pelt splits off from the cluster. It made it's way towards them, but Sprucepaw simply can't muster the excitement. Fallenpaw meowed and greeting and Sprucepaw replied with a greeting of her own. Just as quickly as he exchange ended her eyes we back on the RiverClan cats. Fallenpaw seemed to notice, face twitching slightly to one of concern. A soft whisper left her muzzle. "I'm pretty sure she is just on punishment," the older apprentice muttered. Sprucepaw sighed after the last few cat trickled into the gathering place. That was the last of them. The molly inhaled, disappointed. The calico last saw Mistpaw a few days ago, a while after the Thunderpath incident. Right after pulling her little prank the RiverClanner's mentor arrived and ordered the ShadowClan cat to not be so close to the border, or she would be forced to challenge her. Knowing there was little chance of winning against a bigger, more experienced warrior, she didn't need to be told twice.

Their next meeting wouldn't be for another moon. Again, it was at the border. This time both their mentors were with them, with cranky Mossyfur sending a scowl at Mistpaw. She turned her eyes to the cat's mentor Shallowpath. "I feel sorry for you, living with a curse." She rasped. Shallowpath growled. "Don't remind me." Mistpaw said nothing. She wasn't even listening, ignoring Sprucepaw's greeting. Shallowpath cuffed her ear and she didn't even try to dodge it. Instead, sending a glare to her mentor. "You heard her!" She hissed. Mistpaw remained silent.

Feeling uncomfortable. Sprucepaw mentioned the sun was falling down, to which Mossyfur agreed. They swiftly departed.

Sprucepaw didn't dwell on the memory. The gathering was starting, with the leaders standing at their perch. It was going to be a night.

 _Sprucepaw purred, lifting a paw and placing it on her mate's shoulder. "It'll be fine," She laughed, gaze drifting towards the small kits scampering towards the leader's perch. The other cat nodded, a proud smile on their face, lovingly licking her cheek. Pushing herself closer the feline began to purr loudly, eyes closed as she soaked in the warmth from her lover. Their tails found each other's and curled tightly before Sprucepaw opened her eyes._

 _The clan was gone. So were her kits._

 _Panic flared in her chest. The cat sprung up and whirled around, looking for her clan. She snapped towards her mate, hoping that he was still there. And he was – with a pool of blood around him. His black and white dappled paws were coated in the crimson liquid. He chuckled, his deep voice slowly rising to a higher pitch. Suddenly he snarled, and Sprucepaw realized she couldn't see his eyes. Her lungs stopped working, body frozen as warm blood pounded in her ears, while her body remained cold._

 _"I did it for_ us _." He rasped. "We can't live a lie, I refuse to lie any longer. So I made the change. No one else was going to do what's_ right _." Suddenly he disappeared, her vision being enveloped by darkness._

 _"There is a fire out to burn the stars. The broken have abandoned their ancestors-"_

Sprucepaw jerked up, a painful gasp sounding in the den. Her flank rose and fell, harsh breathing and crickets being the only sounds she heard. The shaken apprentice waited for her eyes to adjust to the darkness, searching for Mudpaw and Mintpaw. The siblings were curled up together and snoring lightly. Sprucepaw continued to shiver.

This was the fifth time. Five times, she's had this nightmare. Five times she managed to force herself awake before it ended. Though not all five were the same – sometimes transparent cats would simply stare at her. One tries to talk, or several would, but the image would warp and turn in on itself. It was horrifying, but this was the one that broke her courage. She needed to see Muddynose as soon as daylight hits.

Crawling out her den after a restless night, Sprucepaw made her was to the medicine cat den. As expected, the murky brown tom was wide and awake, zipping around and organizing the den. The younger cautiously entered, careful not to mess up anything within the den. Before she even spoke Muddynose was at her side. "Something you need?" He asked, leaving just as quickly as he arrived. The tom was now rolling up nest of moss. Sprucepaw sighed, fully entering.

"I...I've been having dreams lately."

Muddynose stopped. His yellow eyes locked onto her. Sprucepaw swallowed.

"What kind of dreams?" He asked. The feathery voice he possessed was gone.

"Uh, weird ones..." She started. The molly continued to explain what occurred during those nights – the starry cats, the cryptic wording. The medicine cat hummed in thought at the end.

"You know, those can be messages from Starclan," He murmured slowly. Sprucepaw blinked as he continued. "Hear me out, okay? You said you've had these dreams for a while, and Mossyfur has been complaining _loudly_ about your sub-par fighting skills. Perhaps..."

The apprentice cut him off. "You think I'm meant to be a medicine cat?"

He sighed. "Yes. My old mentor came to me one night, telling me to watch out for one of the apprentices. I knew it was you – but you seemed so eager to become a warrior, and your mother was so proud of you growing into a warrior that I kinda just ignored the signs." He sighs once again.

Sprucepaw twitched her whiskers. "Okay. So do I have the ceremony now or?"

Muddynose blinked in surprise. "Really? You aren't afraid of changing your whole life...? You spent moons training to become a warrior, Sprucepaw. You can't have kits, have a mate – Murkgaze is a good kid and not that much older-"

Sprucepaw groaned. This was not what she came for. "Murkgaze is my _friend_!" She exclaimed. She was as interested in him as she was in frog droppings. "Besides, you said it yourself – I'm meant to be a medicine cat. It's not like becoming a warrior was really a dream of mines. I was going to get there _eventually_ , like everyone else. Being a medicine cat isn't like I'm not useful anymore. In fact, I'm more useful for doing something I'm good at than just doing what was already set for me."

"Oh."

The calico molly laughed, to which the brown tom joined in before becoming serious again.

"I'll go tell Adderstar later. But I want you continue the dream next time it happens. If it is a message, then that last part is something we would want to hear. Understood?"


End file.
